ONLINE GROUP PITCHING

By Tess MacKall with Contributions by Zetta Brown

There are basically two kinds of pitches—in person and online. A pitch is a brief sales pitch—not a synopsis. A synopsis is a detailed account of your manuscript. E published authors have been pitching books online for quite some time now. The in-person pitch is definitely different in that you don’t have the luxury to keep refining until you get it right. The editor is, after all, sitting right there and you MUST deliver. In-person pitches usually occur at conventions or conferences where editors take appointments to specifically hear an author’s pitch.

Today I’m going to address online pitching only.

I’ve noticed a blog or two here and there taking two or three sentence pitches to editors, and most recently, a Yahoo group I am familiar with, Publishing Trove, http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/publishing trove,has begun accepting online group pitches. Authors simply post their pitch to the group and editors, agents, and publishers read these pitches to determine their interest. Authors are contacted individually, usually off group, in order to request a manuscript.

It’s a wonderful idea, and I applaud the group owner, Trinity Blacio, and her vision. However, the online group pitch process, while working, is still being refined, and I spoke to Trinity about offering this workshop on AWH to possibly help define this unique venture a bit further.

To do so, we must first equate the process to what we do when following a publisher’s submission guidelines. What does that include? Query, synopsis, and manuscript. Well, we don’t need all that for an online group pitch, but what about looking at those big three and narrowing it down to just what we do need? For instance, we’ll take one of the most important parts—the specific data with regard to the manuscript.

The specifics will include: Title, Author Name, Genre, Word Count, Completion Status, Sensuality Level, Pairings, Previously Published or Not, Availability, Contact Information, and Website information. Note: In the case of the online group pitch, you should also include whether the work is erotic or non-erotic, and if it is romance, something other than romance, or simply contains romantic elements. After all, we are in Romancelandia and a great many online publishers invest heavily in erotic works.

Note: While you can’t specifically target a particular font an editor would want used as you are pitching to several different publishers at once, please use an easy to read 12 pt. font such as: Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, Georgia, or Constantia.

DO NOT pitch your book if it has been previously published and you cannot offer proof that your rights have been returned to you. DO NOT pitch a book that is NOT available. If the book is already contracted with a publisher, it is simply NOT available. And it also stands to reason that if YOU as the author are not ready to send your manuscript—not finished with self editing, etc.—that it should NOT be pitched. When an editor contacts you to request your book, they will expect to see it in a very short time period. And in the case of this group online pitch, I’d say they would expect to hear back from an author within 24 hours. It’s the nature of this whole online process—instant access.

So what else do we need? Something that grabs the editor’s attention—a tagline. Just one line that really pops!

Then comes the heart of the matter—the manuscript’s blurb or pitch. The actual pitch can be one, two, or three paragraphs which does two things. 1) Tells the editor/reader about the story, and 2) piques the editor’s interest, pushing them to request more.

Now we come to the closing of the pitch. Remember to thank the group for its time, just as you would in a regular query letter, and include your contact information. DO NOT reveal your phone number or address or your real name if you use a pen name—that information can come later if the editor/publisher/ agent decides to contract your work. Simply post your email address and your website or blog address (Editors and publishers want to see your online presence if any—not to worry, though, if you don’t yet have an online presence. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s the story that matters first and foremost.).

The Publishing Trove group asks that you upload your posted query in the group files section to the file entitled Pitch Day. Remember to include all the needed information at the top of your file so an editor doesn’t have to go searching through the members’ section for an email address or a ton of posts on the group. Some individuals upload a complete synopsis of their manuscript, which is fine. But I feel compelled to caution authors against this. A synopsis is a detailed and sometimes lengthy—two to five page account of your story. It should include the beginning, middle and end. And in most cases, a twist and turn or two as well. You are, in essence, exposing your entire book—idea—on a public group. So, if you do upload your synopsis, please remember to list your copyright information along with your author information. Your pen name, or real name if you don’t use a pen name, should be included with the copyright date. The copyright date is the date you first set pen to paper—or fingers to keyboard—to create your work. It is NOT today’s date or the date you finished the book. It is the date you came up with the idea for your book and started writing. List the year of creation only, not a specific month and date.

If you prefer not to upload your entire synopsis, simply state in the pitch information you offer that a synopsis is available, just like the full (or partial) manuscript, upon request.

Two things you need to remember:

First, when a publisher requests your manuscript and you have placed it elsewhere for consideration, please inform the publisher/editor. Not all publishing houses will consider simultaneous submissions. Let the editor decide if they still want to look at your manuscript. Or you decide if you’d like for that particular publisher to have an exclusive first look.

And second, when you are contacted about your work by a publisher or editor, always reply, even if you aren’t interested in publishing with that particular house. All you need do is simply say: “I’m sorry, but I’ve already placed the manuscript. Thank you for your time and effort in contacting me.” Be professional at all times. It goes a long way.

Also, for the purpose of housekeeping, Publishing Trove requests that once your manuscript has been contracted, remove your pitch from the group files. This saves confusion down the road.

Below is a sample online group pitch. Everything you need to include will be noted in RED.

Title: Sunlight and Magnolias

Author (Pen name or real name as desired): Tess MacKall

Genre (cross genre if any): Historical Western—Erotic Romance

Word Count: 80K projected

Completion Status: 50K into the projected 80K

Sensuality Level: Highly erotic. Sensual, but racy. Graphic and detailed sex scenes

Pairings: M/F

Previously Published: NO

Availability (subject to change, of course.): Manuscript has not been requested at this time. First offering. Partial manuscript and full synopsis are available upon request.

Contact: tessmackall@ gmail.com (Since Yahoo deletes most of an email address you should offer it this way: tessmackall at gmail dot com.)

Website: http://tessmackall. com

Next comes the formal information about the manuscript and copyright information (Yes, you should include the copyright info on that blurb as well—not just the synopsis).

Sunlight and Magnolias

By Tess MacKall

© 2009 All Rights Reserved Tess MacKall

Now, that all important tagline that should grab an editor’s attention right away!

Tagline:

The road to love can be long and lonely…

but two hearts meant to beat as one will always find their way.

Next is the actual blurb. Pack it with words that punch! (Excuse mine, it was written when I was quite tired and hasn’t been critiqued—it’ s just an example. LOL)

Blurb:

In the aftermath of the Civil War, CELIA MONTAGUE faces life alone, her independence stifled by the rigorous religion of her benefactors and schoolmarm position. A decade passes, and with her spinster status firmly in place, she’s given the opportunity to move west and marry a man she doesn’t know.

LAWSON MACCORMAC fought for his beloved South and returns home to find the streets filled with blue bellies and carpetbaggers. Adding to his anguish, the woman he loves turns her back on him. In search of a new beginning, he moves his family to Texas, consumed with building a legacy from the wilderness.

Joined in holy matrimony out of necessity, each looking for a place they belong, neither is willing to acknowledge that beyond the passion they share, love waits. Haunted by the past, they struggle to forge a life together. Shared lust begins their bond, but will those sinfully erotic nights be enough to sustain love? Only danger and the threat of losing each other can bring them together and end their journey on that long and lonely road to love.

And finally:

I’d like to thank all the editors, publishers, and members here on the group for taking the time to read my pitch for Sunlight and Magnolias. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.

Tess MacKall

So your pitch, when posted, should look similar to this:

Title: Sunlight and Magnolias

Author: Tess MacKall

Genre: Historical Western—Erotic Romance

Word Count: 80K projected

Completion Status: 50K into the projected 80K

Sensuality Level: Highly erotic. Sensual, but racy. Graphic and detailed sex scenes

Pairings: M/F

Previously Published: NO

Availability: Manuscript has not been requested at this time. First offering. Partial manuscript and full synopsis available upon request.

Contact: tessmackall@ gmail.com (Since Yahoo deletes most of an email address you should offer it this way: tessmackall at gmail dot com.)

Website: http://tessmackall. com

Sunlight and Magnolias

© 2009 All Rights Reserved Tess MacKall

Blurb:

In the aftermath of the Civil War, CELIA MONTAGUE faces life alone, her independence stifled by the rigorous religion of her benefactors and schoolmarm position. A decade passes, and with her spinster status firmly in place, she’s given the opportunity to move west and marry a man she doesn’t know.

LAWSON MACCORMAC fought for his beloved South and returns home to find the streets filled with blue bellies and carpetbaggers. Adding to his anguish, the woman he loves turns her back on him. In search of a new beginning, he moves his family to Texas, consumed with building a legacy from the wilderness.

Joined in holy matrimony out of necessity, each looking for a place they belong, neither is willing to acknowledge that beyond the passion they share, love waits. Haunted by the past, they struggle to forge a life together. Shared lust begins their bond, but will those sinfully erotic nights be enough to sustain love? Only danger and the threat of losing each other can bring them together and end their journey on that long and lonely road to love.

~***~

I’d like to thank all the editors, publishers, and members here on the group for taking the time to read my pitch for Sunlight and Magnolias. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it.

Tess MacKall

That’s it! Well, not exactly. LOL What happens when an editor contacts you?

Once the manuscript is requested, remember to tell the editor if you intend to send to more than one publisher. That needs to be taken care of right away. It saves a lot of time in the end.

If the editor is fine with you sending to more than one publisher, or if you and the editor decide that you will allow that particular publisher an exclusive first look, then it’s okay to send the requested material.

So, send your synopsis and manuscript (completed or partial just as you have noted in the pitch information) .

With regard to a synopsis, I hope you’ve done your homework. Your synopsis should be no more than 1 to 2% of the overall length of your book. For instance: If your book is 25K then your synopsis should be no more than 500 words or a page and a half to two pages. If your book is 80K then your synopsis should be no more than 1600 words or two to five pages.

In addition to word count—number of pages—your synopsis should a detailed summary of your book. Make sure you include the actual ending and do not “tease” the editor/publisher with a cute little cliff hanger. Now is not the time for cliff hangers. It’s “down to business” time.

Make every word in your synopsis count, pack it with punch. Get to the point, but “show” the editor exactly what you’re trying to convey with your story. The emotion. The action. And it’s always a good idea to have a critique partner go over your synopsis, just like your manuscript, for anything they might see out of place or lacking. They can even tell you if it’s too much of one thing or another. Hit the high points—only those things that are an absolute must to telling your story to the editor.

And again, don’t forget to thank the editor for their time. And it’s fine to ask when you may hear back from them too. Good editors and publishers are never upset by questions.

Okay, that’s really IT this time. LOL. I do hope this has helped all of you who plan to pitch online. Many thanks goes out to Zetta Brown, one of our AWH moderators and Logical Lust publisher, for her invaluable contributions to this lesson.

The workshop is open to questions or suggestions.

Thanks!

Tess MacKall
Senior Editor, Passion in Print Press
An Imprint of MLR Press, LLC.

And AWH Moderator
http://passioninpri nt.com

…and how I review it.

I’ve noticed over the past few months, there have been a number of threads on various loops asking, in different ways, how reviews work. Then Faith came along and asked the group what they defined good writing as, and I was led to think about exactly why I write the reviews, and rate them, the way I do? I must have a definition of what constitutes good writing, to me, in the back of my brain somewhere, and the following, long-winded rambling is a bit of what I came up with. So this is a bit about how reviews (mine, because I can only speak for myself) work, and what works for me as a reader.

Why is there so often a dichotomy between the review rating, and the reviewer’s words? A three star review might garner a long and enthusiastic review, while some 4.5 or 5 star reviews get lack-lustre endorsements.

Now, obviously, I can only speak for myself, and not any other reviewer, and I don’t even claim to speak on behalf of the sites where I review in this article, because I cannot know what’s going on in the individual reviewers’ heads as they decide what, about a book, they want to talk about. So these are just  my ideas on the subject. (and I’m only using stars as an easy way to explain. You can substitute cocktails, divas, cups of coffee, or any other rating system you like, if you please.)

The answer to the question is going to be as varied as the reviewers themselves, but I think I’ve hit on a part of the answer, at least for myself. Basically, I am two people when I’m reading a book. I’m a reader, and I’m a writer. Those two personas look at the book from very different points of view.

The reader in me wants to be entertained. She wants to let go of her surroundings, her stresses, and her worries and get lost in a book. I’ve been that way ever since I learned how to read. The imaginary world beyond the pages is very important to me, it’s where a lot of my problem solving and creative thinking goes on, but it’s also where I can let go of every little thing and just be myself for a little while. I can feel as much as I want to feel, get as caught up in strangers lives as I want to, and not have to worry about how it’s going to affect my actual life.

The writer in me looks for excellence. I can’t help it. I demand it of myself, and that inner editor, when faced with a page full of words, is going to turn on and try to find the best order to be made of all the little black squiggles. When an author doesn’t meet her exacting standards, she lets me know, in no uncertain terms. (As often as not, I’m the author in question!) This inner editor was built to police my own worlds, don’t forget. She sometimes gets carried away and tries to re-write, in my head, the work I’m reading as she thinks it should have been written. She doesn’t differentiate between what I wrote, and what someone else wrote. (She’s a bit of a bitch who thinks she knows everything, to tell you the truth… ) This is by no means to say that she’s right. I have editors who will attest to that fact! But she does know good sentence structure from bad, right words from wrong, and how to build a world and a character I can feel for. After all, if I don’t feel for my own characters, how can I write effectively about them, right?

So this is where the dichotomy comes in. I can love a book to absolute pieces, be very invested in the characters and the scenario, and hold my breath for the happy ending, and still know it is not as technically proficient as it could be. This is where I have to balance the writer’s point of view and the reader’s.  More often than not, when I sit down to write the review, the reader in me will gush up and speak over the writer, extolling all the wonders of the characters, the tense plot, the agony of waiting for the main characters to see how much they love and want one another, and the writer will be left spluttering in the dust saying “…but…but…the head hopping! All the ing’s! You didn’t even read the part where they used herd instead of heard!!! What is wrong with you!?!?!”

What’s wrong with me is that I want, in the end, to lose myself in someone else’s world. If an author can do that, even with technical flaws, they deserve to hear about it, because it’s damn hard to do. When it gets right down to brass tacks, craft, technique, can be taught, I think. It can be learned. Spinning a tale that draws readers into the world you’re writing about is something you have in your soul. A technically flawless book is a thing of beauty, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the tale I’m after. The oblivion of forgetting where I am and what I was supposed to be doing is what I look for.

So that’s why, sometimes, I might give a three star review to a book I gush about. I love the story, but I have to give the writer in me voice, too, and she gets to weigh the technique with the art, and decide the rating. If the technique surpasses the actual content of the story, I might give a higher rating and less enthusiastic review. I rarely find a book that marries art and skill to the extent that that inner editor in me is satisfied into silence, and the reader in me is happy, too. I can probably count them on one hand, in fact. Maybe two. But I could easily name them all.

And let’s be clear that my definition of what constitutes excellence in craft might not be the next person’s. It comes down, to some degree, to what I like as well as the proper use of the language, and not everyone even agrees on the rules, either. Language, and creating with it, is an entirely malleable and fluid process. I happen to notice, in the last few books that I read, that different writers reach me in different ways. Some appeal to my head, and my appreciation of the fine use of the language to create a lovely story where all the pieces fit. Some writers reach inside and grab me by the guts and don’t let go until I turn the final page, even when that pesky editor is griping about awkward phrasing and showing rather than telling. Both are good. Just different, and will get different kinds of reviews from me, that’s all.

I guess, in the end, the thing to remember, whether you’re the author reading a review of your work, or a reader looking for the next great masterpiece, is that every reviewer has their own set of rules as to what makes a good book. Those rules might not be the same ones you go by. Reviewing can be a highly personal thing, and should be taken with a healthy dose of salt.

First, I wanted to once again thank everyone who donated to the AWH donation baskets for the Lori Foster Get Together. Over $5,000 from the raffle baskets alone was raised for the One Way Farm for Orphaned and Abandoned Children. That’s amazing!

Another nice part of the Get Together was that I got to meet two AWH puppies who were also my authors when I was the ME of Wild Child and Freya’s Bower. Missy Lyons approached my table with an adorable baby perched on her hip, and I discovered Nicole Zoltack sitting at book-signing table. Both are lovely ladies and it was a true joy to meet them!

Now, on to the matter at hand.

Today was my day to blog at Flirty Author Bitches which was a prelude to this blog post.

After much deliberation, after days and days of tossing ideas around with my hubby and three of my close friends, and after worrying, swaying back and forth on a decision, and deliberating some more, I’ve finally come to some decisions that I must share with all involved with AWH and AWH Chatters.

Most of you know that the Brown Family has moved into a new, bigger home. It was a horribly difficult move. Why? Because four out of six days of the move, I did it alone. I’m not patting myself on the back. Oh, no. I think I’m whining more than anything, lmao. There were things I moved I should never have moved. I towed a trailer back and forth between the two houses with everything I could cram into it. And thank God I’m not a li’l ninety-pound stick figure. Otherwise, I’d probably still be mashed somewhere between a mattress and a china cabinet!

Ivory, my twelve-year-old dau, worked her li’l butt off, and JadeyKiss did her best to help, but she’s due to have her baby in about four weeks, and without any big guys to step in due to their work schedules and the hubby unable to take off work (they all helped over the weekend with the really big stuff), you now see why I had to disappear for a while from AWH.

Then the weekend for the Lori Foster Get Together arrived and I drove four hours to it and four hours home. Over this past week I’ve done very li’l except write, write, write, and revise, revise, revise—and SLEEP.

I am so damn tired I find myself nodding off at the kitchen table, the computer, over my laptop, and as I try to watch TV.

But one thing I haven’t said much about is that I have writing contracts rolling in. I’m not one to wave my flag and shout all over cyberspace about my contracts and publications. One thing I learned a long, long time ago is that the readers will find your work and they’ll read what they want to read no matter how much you shimmy around in a bright banner or shoot promo after various promo through the loops. However, I’ve learned the hard way that there are way too many green-eyed gremlins out there in Writer Land for my taste, so keeping my publishing news to my blogs and my newsletter for the most part is the wisest choice for me.

I have four pen names and two variants of my real name that I publish under. I’m open about Molly Diamond’s work because it’s pure erotica for the most part, but my other ones I use for various reasons of anonymity. I’m published with some big guys, and I’m content keeping the who, what, when, where, and why of it all quiet.

With that said, I’ve sold several manuscripts of late, two of which were sold on two chapters or just a few pages. I already have publication dates for these novels and they’re looming in the near future. On top of that, I have a series under consideration too.

Now, mix in my big family, a grandchild on the way, and helping my daughter finish her education so she can go on to college… Well, I have to trim some things down in my life and two of them are the loops and AWH.

Now before the devout AWH puppies howl in protest, I’m not shutting AWH down completely. This is what I’m going to do:

• Over the next week or so, I will be sending a repeat special notice through the AWH Workshop encouraging those there who are not on Chatters to make the shift over to the AWH Chatters group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/avoidwritershellchatters

• This AWH blog will remain open. Lex is graciously keeping it online. Therefore, lessons, informative posts, articles, and the like will appear here on the AWH blog.

• AWH puppies (students) with questions and comments about said AWH lessons/articles can leave them in the comments, and myself and my mods can answer and discuss things in comments too. This makes it easier for me, too, because I’m stuck with dial-up until something better becomes available in my region.

• AWH Chatters will be the same as it has always been. Promos on Mondays, general questions asked there, chitchat, and so on.

Moreover, I do have a lot of nonfiction material that I want to compile into one big volume for writers that has the same tone and theme of the AWH Books so that’s another reason I want to keep AWH going. One day I hope to have that conference for AWH too.

But right now, I find myself with more obligations and work than I have time. Since my writing helps pay the bills, I have to sculpt my schedule so I can make room for everything.

If you have any questions, you can email me privately or post it in the comments section here.

Change is a big part of life.

I love you all.

Faith

Founder of Avoid Writers Hell

Do you ever check yourself? In what you say, what you do, and what you write? Do you stop and say, “Here’s a line I must not cross”? Or do you spew your thoughts and ideas out loud and on paper and in blog posts across the web without a thought for how they will be perceived by others?

This is an electronic world we live in and as much as things are so very easy now because of technology, it is also a very harsh and unforgiving frontier on some fronts. What you put out there in the electronic world can and will, and often does, come back to bite you on your pretty little ass.

Have you ever heard of the Wayback Machine? I can use it and dig up cached copies of websites I built more than 10 years ago. I cringe when I see them because my work is more refined and prettier now. And even though those sites are no longer up, they are still out there for people to find, if you know how to dig.

When you post to your blog, how many people are going to see it and remember your words? Dooce is a blogger who became famous for losing her job because of what she said on her blog. My own pal Karl had the same thing happen to him. I even have a post on my blog about “How I Almost Got Karled” which is about how I got “talked to” at work because of frustrations I’d unloaded on my personal blog.

Yahoo groups and blogs are places you can call your own, but you have to ask yourself how much access do people have to those things? How much of yourself are you giving away to others in a thoughtless, careless manner? Are you giving a stalker the means to find your house or your place of employment? Are you giving readers a bad view of yourself as an author when you whine constantly on your blog or public group about your bad editors, stupid publishers, and the antics of other authors who are behaving in a less than professional manner? And what about when you blatantly do things on groups that are against the rules? Don’t those things reflect poorly on you as well?

Yes. They. Do.

If promo is only Monday and you send one through on Wednesday, and you do it more than once, people start thinking you’re either getting preferential treatment (which will piss them off) or that you’re arrogant and don’t give a shit about anyone’s rules.  The more authors and readers see you do these things, the fewer fans and buyers you get for your books. And yes, the more publishers and editors who see it, the fewer houses you’ll find for your work. No one wants to deal with a prima donna. Maybe you’re not really one, but by flaunting the rules repeatedly, you’ve given the impression that you are.

If you post the wrong kind of promo to a loop, the same thing holds true. If the group is for sweet romance only and you’re posting sci-fi erotica you can be sure that someone – probably lots of someones – are going to notice. And they won’t forget that you were either too stupid to figure out your promo didn’t fit that group or you were too arrogant to care. Readers don’t want to buy from authors who are assholes. I don’t want to buy from authors who are assholes. Most people don’t.

And speaking of groups, how much should you tell people on an open, public group? I have a closed, non-public, invite only group. I say whatever I want there and invite the members to do the same. But we’re talking about two dozen people who probably aren’t the type to go spilling their guts to the web that Rott made Lex cry last night. (He didn’t. It’s just an example. LOL) Or that menopause is kicking my ass with more periods than I’ve had in 10 years. (Quite true, unfortunately.)

But did you REALLY need to know that about me? Did you REALLY want to know it? And should I have even told you? How much of my private life should I share with you before it becomes monotonous and stupid and fuel for someone to make fun of me in an effort to boost their sales by hopefully diminishing mine?

And more than all that, how much do you have to say and do before you lose the respect of others, sales for your books, and publishers you can submit to?

If you sign a contract with a house not to give away more than 5 copies of your book and you give away 10 and the publisher finds out about it because you posted it to your blog all braggy-like…do you think they are just going to smile and say, “Oh, that Lex. She’s just the nicest thing. We’ll just tell her not to do that again.” HELL TO THE NO. They are gonna be pissed and rightly so. You are now in breach of contract, honey, and if they have already gotten on your case for other things (promoing with non-sanctioned excerpts and blurbs and artwork, talking about their staff publically in a way that isn’t positive, etc.) you can bet your bottom dollar that your next submission to them is going to be looked at askance.

Sure, the big sellers get away with these antics. Sometimes. But do you want to risk it? Risk sales, fans, professional respect?

Authors need to press the flesh, get out there and tell people who you are, show them your work. But you need to do this in a professional manner, using the most polished tools you have, and you need to always be aware of your web-presence. Be aware of the fact that no matter how casual the internet is, it’s a faithless bitch who will stab you in the back because every freaking error and misstep you have ever made in this cyber world can be uncovered and used against you.

Choose your words and deeds wisely in public, and make no mistake, this internet IS public. The information you whisper in one ear on the net isn’t really going into just one ear…it’s going into millions. Edit yourself as you should edit your work. And before you frown at me and tell me that’s a lot of extra BS you never signed up for with this gig, let me remind you of things your parents probably told you.

Put your best foot forward.

Think before you speak.

Before you type into that chat window, IM window, Twitter box, Facebook wall, Yahoo group, blog post, blog comment, forum,  message board, PM, email, text message, or any other social media or internet related thing… do those two things.  And remember, there’s a reason people yell TMI across all social media. Sometimes, there are things we just don’t want to know.  So before you spew your guts out on Facebook or the loops, you better make sure you know and understand just exactly what truly is too much.

The most common excuse I hear for someone not writing is they don’t have the time. We all know time is in short supply. Our days are full of work, family, and all the commitments we’ve made to other people. How do we find time for ourselves?

First you have to decide if it’s important. Would you rather be getting those 6 or 8 hours of sleep a night? Watch 3 or 4  hours of TV? Or lock yourself in your office and struggle to put words on paper?

For most of my life I’ve been a writer. I’ve poured tens of thousands of word on paper or into my computer. I’ve read dozens of books about writing and gleaned what I could from them. I learned to write anywhere. My habit was to always have pens and paper in my bag, along with a book and pull it out when I sat down someplace. A lunch table, a bar, the passenger seat of a car — I ever learned how to scribble ideas down while I was behind the wheel, writing without looking at the page. I was probably the only one would could have read those scratches.

A writer needs to figure out what can be juggled on their already full schedule. The best way to become a writer is to allot X number of hours a day to put toward writing. Now, this doesn’t mean every one of those moments has to be used to the act of physical writing. Most books or stories I write take nearly as much time thinking about the book, doing the research I need, and most of my books are either police procedurals where I have to get the police details right, to my current work on an historical novel set in the 1920s. Hours of my time have been spent researching the minutiae of the late roaring twenties. The actual writing of the novel I’m calling Color of Shadows and Smoke only started a month or more of digging through all the data I unearthed on that period.

I started writing the actual novel at the very beginning of March. By March’s end I had just over 40,000 words. The majority of those words came in the last 2 weeks. Before that I was struggling. I knew the story, I knew what I wanted to do with it, but the words wouldn’t come.

How did I fix that? I changed my priorities around. I’m a TV hound. I will put it on in the morning and let it run all day, sometimes not even changing channels or watching what was on very much. But it was on, and even if I only glanced at it for a few minutes every hour, that adds up. One day I did’t turn the TV on. I left it on and wrote. Suddenly I’m writing reams. I do 3,000, 5,000 even 9,000 at one point over a 24 hour period.

So to answer my own question, I will now say I will give up TV while I’m writing. Sometimes the only way to make this job choice possible is to get up an hour early, go to bed an hour later. Block some time out and let the family and friends know no to disturb you. It can mean turning off your cellphone. Staying off the Internet. I’m guilty of the latter. I continually go in and check my email. Playing around on Facebook or Twitter might be useful to new writers, but if they interfere with the writing time you need then they are distractions you don’t need.

Being a professional writer (even if you don’t quit your day job) requires first and foremost discipline. The discipline to sit in front of your computer and pound out words. Talking about writing will get you nowhere. Neither will dreaming about it. You have to get down and do it. It will mean sacrifices. There is no two ways about it. We have 24 hours. You have to carve some of that time out to write and then doing it. No excuses. The dishes can wait, the kids can find something to amuse themselves, the books you want to read must stay on your TBR pile. The phone must go unanswered.

Everybody gets the same amount of time. And the funny thing about time, is we always fill it. There’s always going to be something that has to be done, obligations such as work and family — although I have been known to jot ideas down during work hours. And of course, there are always lunch breaks and other daily breaks. But everybody has some flexible time. How we allot that time is at our discretion. If you have to wait for your kids at soccer practice or in the dentists office, those times can be put to use if you are prepared with paper and pen, or a recorder. If we want some of that time to write, then we have to carve it out and give it to ourselves.

Decide if writing is worth finding the time. Decide how badly you want it. Then make the time to do it. The choices are yours. what will you give up to be a writer?

Writing can be tough sometimes, especially when you hit a pothole in middle of the roadway. Yes, writing can be like driving in real life. You know you have to take driving lessons to be able to take that driver’s test in order to get your driver’s license so you can drive a car. Same goes for those English classes in school and college, plus writer’s workshops you enroll in at conventions, conferences and writer’s festivals. It’s all about making you the best writer you can be, just like driving lessons will hopefully make you the best driver you can be.

And like all drivers should to become a better driver, so should you should write every day to become a better writer. Practice always makes perfect, or as close as you can get. Even if it’s not a manuscript you have due, or a book, story or poem that you’re working on, just writing anything for a few minutes, even what you might think is garbage, can be beneficial. Besides, that garbage one day may spark a story idea and then, it’s no longer garbage—right?

A good driver cares about his/her car. They change the oil when it’s needed, get it new tires, have it inspected, and get it repaired when it is required. You put gas in it, washer fluid, add oil when it’s needed, and whatever else you know the vehicle necessitates. Same goes for the tools of a writer’s trade. Your PC or laptop needs a virus and spysweeper program installed, especially if you use said computer to go online for research or to do promotions for your books. You clean it, set up programs that are needed for writing, do a virus scan weekly and whatever else you feel your computer needs. And not just the computer, but you must take care of yourself! You do this by a good diet, exercise, and proper amount of sleep each night. You make sure you don’t catch any diseases, for even a cold can befuddle the thinking processes. After all, those lovely stories are in your head and a foggy brain doesn’t function well getting them out and into a manuscript.

There’ll be times when you hit those potholes, or writer’s block. Even you need to get up out of that chair to go read a book, watch a movie, take a walk around the neighborhood or work on another manuscript or short story, when you just can’t continue writing on a particular day. It happens. No one is going to beat you over the head about it. The next day, just get back behind the wheel (or in front of the laptop/PC) and get back on track with what you were working on. After all, don’t you get tired of driving when you’ll been doing it for several hours on the road and need to pull over? Same goes for writing.

Next time you sit down in front of your screen and it’s opened to Microsoft Word, ready for you to type in some words, think of it like getting behind the wheel and heading down the road to unknown parts. Writing is like driving and your story is the world that flies by as you head down the highway of imagination.

Sapphire Phelan

http://FantasticDreams.50megs.com

Go beyond the usual, instead take the unusual that stretches the boundaries and find romance with Sapphire Phelan’s aliens, werewolves, vampires, fairies, and other supernatural/otherworldly heroes and heroines.

When I first sat down to blog here at AWH’s site tonight, I didn’t have a clue what to write about. I combed through old articles, blog posts from three and four years ago, and still came up with nothing.

Time is something I have learned to manage quite well, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try to manage that time, you still have to bite the bullet and write from scratch, lol.

As I began typing here, I started thinking of the people I’ve met over the past couple of years. There are people I’ve grown to respect and even love as friends. I also thought about the tiny handful who have made me quirk an eyebrow, mutter a few choice words, and wonder what entity possesses them, LMAO.

First, I want to tell all the AWH puppies that they’re great and that I adore them. For those of you who are new to this site, I teach at the AWH Workshop and we commune and talk over at AWH Chatters. The people who hang at both sites are amazing people.

I launched AWH on a whim. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it would grow like it has. Sure, members have come and gone at the workshop, but 90% of the original members from the first year are still there learning and growing as writers. Those folks are writers devoted to growing in their craft, and I respect each one who strives to hone their work and continue to learn.

And like every group or forum, AWH has had its ups and downs, but you know what? The matters were handled, and, as a result, the groups have grown stronger. My love goes out to all of the AWH puppies and the mods!

AWH now has this blog site, it has an awesome newsletter for members, and a fantastic online magazine for both members and non-members (click the mag links on the right). I continue to get fan mail for the AWH books too. This has inspired me to put together a non-fiction book on writing that I hope will go to print one day.

We’re also having special guest and publisher days. We had author Jackie Kessler here last week, and we have the founder of Ellora’s Cave with us on February 24th, as well as the publishers of both LL-Publications/Logical Lust and Pink Petal Books scheduled for March with more coming in the future.

Moreover, I will be attending Lori Foster’s Get Together and will attend as not only an author and editor but the founder of AWH. The AWH puppies are helping to put raffle baskets together for the event too.

One day I would love to see AWH grow as big as RT with workshops, a nice ball, and lovely dinners.

Although I teach at AWH, this has been one big learning process for me as well. What matters, however, are those special people who post on their blogs about what they learned at AWH, or they send me an email that gets me choked up, or send me an e-card I wasn’t expecting to say a simple thank you, and even the occasional phone call that ends in, ‘Thank you for all that you do, Faith.’ which always makes me realize what beautiful people are out there.

I have great mods at AWH and I have great students.

You all rock!

Just like there wouldn’t be any books without writers, there wouldn’t be any AWH without writers who desire to learn.

No matter what the experience, it’s all about learning. Teachers teach, but they learn too.

To all out there who have been or still are a part of Avoid Writers Hell…thank you.